


Dear Briele

by lirin



Category: Oxford Time Travel Universe - Connie Willis
Genre: Epistolary, Gen, Sisters, Yuletide Treat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-25
Updated: 2018-12-25
Packaged: 2019-09-26 23:03:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17150735
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lirin/pseuds/lirin
Summary: Dear Briele,I have now put in two and a half weeks of solid work towards becoming an historian.I still don't know how to inquire after the location of the bathroom or chamber pot. I don't even know how to say "Hello, my name is Kivrin Engle." But I've memorized an extensive table of pronominal declensions, and the full conjugations of an assortment of verbs. I'll have to talk to someone else to see if I can get some more practical experience.





	Dear Briele

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Izilen](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Izilen/gifts).



> With gratitude to my beta drayton.

Michaelmas 2052

Dear Briele,

Thank you for the pastries you sent for the train ride. I was so excited that it seemed as if I was only on the train for a few minutes, but it was still nice to have something to snack on along the way.

I'm all settled in here at Brasenose. I've met my tutor, Mr. Latimer, and I've already had my first lessons in Middle English. Did you know that Middle English had a lot fewer silent letters than we have today? The word "knight" (which they spelled the same way as us sometimes, although it could also be spelled with a Y instead of the I, or this weird little squiggle called yogh (ȝ) instead of the gh) is pronounced k-nicht, but with a hard ch, like the composer Bach.

So, now you know! And now every time you see the word knight you'll picture me saying k-nicht and think of me! It's not as if you'd be able to picture me saying anything more useful in Middle English...all we've done so far is write out charts of tenses and cases and how sounds have changed over the years. Hopefully soon I'll actually learn to say full sentences, so if I'm ever somewhere where everybody speaks Middle English I can ask them "Where's the bathroom?" and "What's for dinner?" and other truly useful phrases. (Actually, I suppose they used chamber pots or something, so I'll have to ask where to find one of those.)

How has school been going for you? I hope it's not too lonely, having our room all to yourself. (Oh, who am I kidding—it must be wonderful to be able to spread out in there. I bet you had my bed piled with books and electronics and experiments before I even got off the train in Oxford. Just try to have it cleaned up before Christmas vac!)

With love,

Kivrin

* * *

Michaelmas 2052

Dear Briele,

I have now put in two and a half weeks of solid work towards becoming an historian.

I still don't know how to inquire after the location of the bathroom or chamber pot. I don't even know how to say "Hello, my name is Kivrin Engle." But I've memorized an extensive table of pronominal declensions, and the full conjugations of an assortment of verbs. One would hope I'm getting close to actually being able to say things in Middle English, but I don't know. I'm starting to wonder if as far as Mr. Latimer is concerned, this is all there is. Who cares about the real world when we can have charts and tables and graphs?

But I want to be an historian, and being an historian requires one to function in the real world. So I'm going to have to learn to speak Middle English more fully, even if I have to find a textbook and teach myself. (Oh, did I tell you? Mr. Latimer doesn't use a textbook. Just some ancient copies of his handwritten notes, with charts that he scrawls on the chalkboard for me to copy down. Oh, so many charts.)

I talked to Mr. Gilchrist, the head of Mediaeval, about getting some more practical experience, but he was too busy. He's working on a very interesting project that is quite in line with my interests, but it keeps him too busy to deal with students personally. (I suppose it could all be an excuse and he's just trying to avoid students, but he does seem to be the type to get caught up in a project.) He's working on a reranking of the Middle Ages, supported by various research that he feels (and I agree) does not support the current ranking of a blanket ten. I hope he succeeds. If the Middle Ages doesn't get rescored one way or other, I don't know how I'll ever be able to go there.

Please give my love to Mum and Dad. I hope school is going well for you. Did you get caught up on that maths assignment you were worried about? I'm sorry I haven't been able to write more frequently, but I promise I'll write back as soon as I can.

Love,

Kivrin

* * *

Michaelmas 2052

Dear Briele,

I'm so excited! I've finally found someone who really knows what is to be an historian, and who can teach me what I really need to know, to go along with Mr. Latimer's tables of Middle English pronouns.

His name is Mr. Dunworthy. He's a professor at Balliol, and his focus is Twentieth Century, but he's actually traveled to the past, and understands the practicalities of how it works. He's given me a list of things that I need to learn—oh, so many things. It felt a bit overwhelming at first, when I got back to my flat and looked at the long list that I had scrawled down during our first conversation. But I've organized it all and made myself a schedule so that I can study some every day, in addition to my studies under Mr. Latimer. Some of the things I can learn from books, or from other tutors at Oxford that I've begged for help. Others are a bit more of a challenge. I need to find someone who can teach me to spin on a spindle, and somewhere I can learn to ride a horse. I've decided to grow my hair out; he said it's not long enough.

Do you understand what this means? I could really go back in time. This time next year (or the year after that, or the one after that...I shouldn't get too presumptuous), I could be in the Middle Ages. Isn't that wonderful?

I hope you're finding school even half as nice as I am! Best of luck on your biology quiz.

With love,

Kivrin

* * *

Michaelmas 2052

Dear Briele,

I'll be home this time next week! I'm looking forward to seeing you and Mum and Dad. Please do remember to clear off my bed, as I'm sure you've got so many textbooks and notebooks and half-completed science experiments on there by this point that it's scarcely recognizable under the piles! That reminds me, I picked up some random electronics for you that you can play with and take apart and whatever you like. One of the net technicians was doing repairs on Balliol's net, and I asked him if I could have the old parts that he was just going to throw away. I don't know what they are or what they're used for, but I hope you might find them interesting.

I still haven't figured out what I should get Mum for Christmas. I've been so busy with my language studies that I can scarcely think! I'm doing my best to learn Church Latin and Anglo-Saxon on my own, as well as the Middle English that Mr. Latimer is teaching me. I'm supposed to learn Norman French, too, but I haven't been able to find anyone to teach me that yet. Do you think Mum would like chocolates? I should probably buy something before I leave; doing secret Christmas shopping is much easier here when I'm on my own, than at home where everyone's likely to know exactly where I've gone. Yes, I think I'll get a box of chocolates, unless you have any better suggestions.

I'll see you soon...I'm sure you're looking forward to it as much as I am!

Happy Christmas!

Kivrin

* * *

Hilary 2053

Dear Briele,

Thank you again for the planner! It's a lot better for keeping my studies organized than the exercise book I'd been using. Did you ever get that RTN splitter put back together? Don't worry, I won't tell Badri about the piece that exploded. I'll tell him that we were both model students of net technology, and that we thought the electronics were fascinating and that you would very much enjoy having more parts if he ever has anything else he's going to throw away (and we absolutely won't put them in the instawave to see what happens when they get really hot).

I'm sure it won't come as a surprise to hear that Middle English continues to be full of charts. I can actually put sentences together, now. We're reading selections from Chaucer. And I've found a little Catholic church that still does the entire service in Latin, so I've been attending there every Sunday. I don't know nearly enough Latin to understand everything the priest is saying, but I'm working on memorizing and understanding all the congregational responses at least. And when to kneel, sit, and stand—looking around to see what everyone else is doing works fine for now, but it will instantly out me as an impostor if I do it in the Middle Ages.

I'm off to Infirmary...Dr. Ahrens is teaching me basic first aid and other medical knowledge that I might need in the Middle Ages. I'll post this letter on the way. I miss you!

Lots of love,

Kivrin

* * *

Hilary 2053

Dear Briele,

I'm so sorry I haven't written more. I've been terribly busy with all my studying. I'm feeling much more confident with Chaucer these days, and I can stand up and kneel and say "Et cum spiritu tuo" with the best of them. Now if only my riding instructor would only let me try something faster than a walk, I'd really feel like I was making progress!

Your Easter trip sounds very nice, and I hope you have great fun! I'll be sorry to miss you at home, but it's only a few more months until summer, and we'll be sure to see plenty of each other then.

No more spare parts from Badri. I haven't dared ask too importunately, for fear he would ask further questions about the fate of that poor electrographic gateway. He seems the sort of person who would want the pieces of the net to have a proper disposal, one without explosions. (Did you ever tell Mum what happened to the instawave, or do I need to continue to keep that a secret?)

I was writing this letter while attending a lecture on the fall of the Roman Empire and how that led to the beginning of the Middle Ages. (Instead of taking exhaustive notes, which I probably should have been doing. I did take some, though—if you put your stationery on top of your exercise book, you can switch back and forth relatively quickly. I hope the lecturer didn't notice, though!) Anyway, the lecture has now ended and I've promised my roommate that I'll meet her and her friends at the bar, so I'll close this letter.

Best wishes for your school trip—I hope you learn a lot and have a lot of fun!

Love,

Kivrin

* * *

Easter 2053

Dear Briele,

I wasn't sure how to get post to you while you're in America, so I'll just leave this letter on your pillow. I'm writing this on the evening of Easter Sunday. Mum and Dad told me that for one whole week, they wanted me to take a break and not do any studying, but I only agreed on condition that we skip Easter Week services at the Re-Converted Unitarian Church and find a Catholic church with Latin masses. I have the regular Sunday liturgy mostly learned, but it can vary quite a bit on different solemnities and other liturgical days, so I try to attend mass on those days as often as possible. It would be rude to take notes in church, but I try to make notes afterwards, reflecting on the service. Today's second reading was from Colossians:  "quae sursum sunt sapite, non quae super terram". Think of what is above, not what is on earth. I'm always so focused on what is on earth these days. I want so badly to go to this other time on our earth, and to experience what other humans experienced so long before me. When I try to think of what is above, I don't know what to think about. Do you think there really is a God, and angels, and all that? I suppose there must be someone up there, somewhere, but I don't know if he's paying attention. He sure lets a lot of things go unchecked that he ought to put a stop to. But angels...I don't know. Winged messengers from heaven sound like a fairy tale. A lot of the stories of saints and prophets and angels sound like fairy tales, but I think there must be an essence of truth in there somewhere. I just don't know what I believe, and I don't know whether I should take the time to figure it out, or whether as long as I go through the motions, that's good enough for my purposes. It would certainly be a time-saver, and I'm sure a lot of the people I'll meet in the Middle Ages were just going through the motions, but...I just don't know. That seems to be the theme of this letter, doesn't it?

On a lighter note, something else I don't know is what you've been up to these last few weeks. I hope your school trip has been everything you hoped for, and that you've seen some interesting places and learned interesting things. I wish you'd been able to write while you were away, but I'm sure you're terribly busy, so I'll just look forward to hearing all about it when you get back to England.

Pax tecum (peace be with you).

Kivrin

* * *

Trinity 2053

Dear Briele,

Well, I'm back at Brasenose, and you too must be getting home around now. And probably reading this letter nearly simultaneously with the one I wrote you weeks ago and left on your bed. Easter seems so long ago now—I've spun half a pound of wool since then, and memorized hundreds of vocabulary words in multiple languages. I'm no closer to resolving my religious uncertainties, though. Do you believe in angels? I suppose it doesn't really matter. I must focus on the practicalities of earthly things or I'll never accomplish everything I want to do in preparation for the Middle Ages.

I can't think what else to write about. My roommate rescued a frog yesterday—it was hopping along the sidewalk outside of Hall, so she captured it in a box and took it to a pond where it would be safer. Mr. Gilchrist says he's still working on the reranking, and he's still too busy to talk to undergraduates. Mum missed you lots while you were gone and even cried a couple times, when she thought Dad and I couldn't hear her. I missed you, too. Sometimes I get lonely here, even with so many people around, just because it's so far from the village where I grew up.

Have you picked up an American accent while you were away? Call me sometime if you can, and tell me all about your adventures across the ocean!

Love,

Kivrin

* * *

Trinity 2053

Right worshipful sister, I recommend me to you.

If I were writing this letter in the Middle Ages, that's how I would begin it. All the words are nearly the same as they are now, although the spelling is much different. And inconsistent. It might look something like "Ryt wurchipful suster, I recommawnd me to ʒu", but there are probably a thousand different variations of that I could come up with. Mr. Latimer has me reading the Paston letters now, so I have seen much more Middle English correspondence now than I had a few weeks ago. They're probably a bit too dry and historical for your taste, but I'm finding them fascinating! This family lived more than a century after the time I'm most interested in going to, although of course I wouldn't mind going to their time either. They have all sorts of ups and downs as they squabble over estates and try to stay on the right side in the Wars of the Roses.

I enjoyed chatting with you on the phone week before last! We should do that more often. (Though how we would find the time, between your schoolwork and mine, I have no idea.) Nothing much has changed here since then. I've learned a few more words, and trotted a few more kilometers on a horse, but I feel as if I am exactly the same person I was then. Changes don't come very fast these days for me. All my concentration is on learning, and filling my brain as if it were a jug I'm pouring water into (though with far more labor and difficulty than pouring water would take).

I have to run or I'll be late to my tutorial.

All my love,

Kivrin

* * *

Trinity 2053

Dear Briele,

Yes, I am absolutely looking forward to summer as much as you! Oxford is wonderful, but I'll be so glad to be home and sleep in the bed I grew up in. And a holiday in Paris sounds like the perfect way to give myself a break from studying...I'm so glad Mum suggested that! That will give us something to look forward to over the next few months.

I still will be bringing home a lot of work, of course. I have some embroidery to work on, which I can do in the evenings while we watch vids, so it won't all consist of me holing up in our room with my nose in a book. (Although I am bringing an entire suitcase full of books that I hope to read before next term.)

And guess what else will be in that suitcase...Badri was getting rid of another drained RTN splitter, and I convinced him to let me have it! I don't think we'd better put this one in the instawave, but we could set it outside and pour boiling water on it if you're still curious about how they respond to heat. Although you shouldn't combine water and electronics, should you? Oh well, this is your area of expertise, and I'll let you decide what we're going to do with it.

See you soon!

Kivrin

* * *

Michaelmas 2053

Dear Briele,

I really must apologize for what I said about science at dinner in Paris. I didn't mean it like that, but I should have phrased it differently and I can see how you were offended. I don't think science isn't important. There wouldn't be a net if it weren't for electronics, and maths, and physics in general, and temporal physics in specific, and for all I know there's probably some biology and chemistry in there too. What I should have said is that history is the most important academic subject for me personally. You know me—I've been interested in history and reading books about the past since, well, probably as long as you can remember. I'll always love history more than anything, but that's just me. You'll always love science and maths more than anything, and I'm terribly glad that that's the case. I wouldn't want you to be anyone other than who you are, because that's the Briele I've loved ever since I was three and Mum sat me very carefully on the settee and put you in my lap.

I'm terribly sorry to have cast a pall over our holiday, and I hope you will forgive me. You're my favorite younger sister (yes, I know, you don't have any competition, but you're still winning by a landslide regardless) and I'd hate for my foolish words to ruin our relationship.

As you're aware, I'm all moved back to school now. The term doesn't officially start until tomorrow morning, but I already have two essays I need to write—one for my actual tutor, and one for Mr. Dunworthy, who might as well be my tutor for all the time he spends teaching me.

You've probably already figured out why this letter was so lumpy, but it turns out Badri can be bribed with chocolate, and I thought you might like more concrete proof that I really do appreciate science...so I convinced him that maybe he should replace one of the electrographic gateways on Balliol's net a bit ahead of schedule. (Please don't put it in the instawave?)

With all my love,

Kivrin

* * *

Michaelmas 2053

Dear Briele,

It was nice to talk to you on the phone last week. I'm glad to hear that your classes are going mostly well. I hope your maths teacher relents; if not, you really should ask Mum to talk to her. And please don't hesitate to send me your history essay if you want me to look it over and make suggestions before you submit it!

I don't have much new to tell you. Another day, another forty yards of wool on the spindle, another one hundred vocabulary words, another micrometer of length in my hair growing out—the changes are so gradual that I don't feel any different. I wind the yarn off into a ball, I cross the words off and swap the list out for the next hundred, I braid my hair exactly the same way. It doesn't feel like the sort of huge changes that everyone talks about experiencing when they go away to uni. Other people may be having huge watershed moments that change how they think of themselves as a person, but I'm still little Kivrin Engle, would-be historian.

I've decided to stay here over Christmas vac. I've found someone who can teach me how to weave, but she's only free in December and January, and there's so many other things I need to be studying, too. Don't worry, I won't forget about you, even though I won't be with you for Christmas. I'm already thinking about what to get you for your present.

Lots of love,

Kivrin

* * *

Christmas 2053

Dear Briele,

Happy Christmas! I hope this will reach you before the 25th. I never know how long to expect the post to take—sometimes your letters get here the day after they're dated, and sometimes it's several days more. And of course a box as big as this might take longer than an envelope. Have you opened it yet? Don't read further until you've unwrapped it!

Seriously, put this letter down and get to unwrapping, young lady!

Well? What do you think?

I thought this might come in handy, for understandable reasons. You can tell Mum that I thought it would be nice to have a separate one in our room, for when you're studying and want a snack. And that's even truthful, because you can use it for that too, when you don't have bits of random metal. If you don't blow it up by the time I come home next, I'll make us popcorn in there and we can sit on my bed and watch vids. But in the meantime, you can finally put that electrographic gateway in the instawave without worrying about causing damage to the family one that Mum might notice.

And the other thing is one of the first fruits of my labors in weaving. You'd mentioned wanting a new muffler, and I thought the pink and purple might fit your style. This was my first time attempting a twill weave, on 4 shafts. I think it turned out quite nice! I wove another one on the same warp for Mum, but with navy weft instead of pink to make it more subdued.

And now I'm off to the Bodleian, because there is always more studying to be done, even at Christmas time. I hope you and Mum and Dad have a very happy Christmas!

Love,

Kivrin

* * *

Christmas Day 2053

Dear Briele,

Thank you very much for the desk organizer set and the pens! I can always use more things to keep me organized, and I love all the different colors of ink in the pens! I should probably use more colors to take notes, so that I can sort them by different categories, and these pens will be a great way to do that.

I haven't done very much to celebrate Christmas this year; I put up some tinsel in my room, and this morning I opened your and Mum's and Dad's presents, but mostly I've been studying. Last night was the most celebrating I've done—my sort-of-but-not-actually tutor, Mr. Dunworthy, found me in the Bodleian and dragged me away from my research to his sherry party and to the interchurch Christmas Eve service at St. Mary the Virgin's. It was freezing cold out, but I'm glad I went. And just think, maybe next year, I'll get to see what a fourteenth-century Christmas Eve service is like!

Oh, I hope that will happen. So many hopes and dreams and so much work that I've put into making that happen, and I still have no idea if I'll be able to go. The fourteenth century—all of the Middle Ages—is still ranked as a ten, you know.

But all I can do is trust that it will work out, and so I will. Happy Christmas!

Kivrin

* * *

Hilary 2054

Dear Briele,

Everyone's back at school. I hadn't realized how empty it was around here until it wasn't empty anymore. The bustle and the smiling faces are quite nice, although I do miss being able to book a study carrel whenever I wish. It's so much easier to study with soundproofing instead of being surrounded by students, no matter how cheerful their chatter is.

How about you, how has your start of term been? What sort of projects are you working on this year?

Miss you.

Kivrin

* * *

Hilary 2054

Dear Briele,

I had an idea that I thought you might like. Since we haven't seen each other in so long, how would you like to come up to Oxford over Easter? I can show you around, and take you to all the best places to eat, and introduce you to some of the temporal physics faculty. (I'd introduce you to the chemistry and electronics faculty but I don't know any of them myself.) We can go to a more modern church for Easter services if you like, or you can go to Latin mass at Holy Re-Formed, where I've been attending. Or both! I'd need to do at least a bit of studying while you were here, but I can squeeze that in in the evenings or early mornings, leaving most of the day free for some good solid sister bonding time!

How does that sound? I'd love to see you if we can make it work. I know you're busy, though.

Love you lots,

Kivrin

* * *

Trinity 2054

Dear Briele,

I've enclosed the terrorist jacket and indigos that you forgot when you were here for Easter. I'm ashamed to admit that it's been this long since I actually did all my laundry down to the bottom of the bin, but I finally found them. And since packages that only contain things you already had are rather boring, I've also enclosed some candy and another RTN splitter from Badri. (He's started saving them for me when he replaces them!)

I'm glad you got to meet Mr. Dunworthy when you were here. Of everyone here at Oxford, he's the person I've spent the most time with and learned the most from. (Well, I might have spent more time around my roommate, but I'm not sure she counts since most of the times we're in the same room, one or the other of us is sleeping.) Mr. Latimer may know all there is to know about vowel shifts and pronominal declensions in the Middle Ages, but Mr. Dunworthy knows a lot about the things that really matter.

I've finally started studying Anglo-Norman French, on top of all my other languages. It gets hard to keep track of which language is which, sometimes. (I do hope I managed to only use modern English in this letter! I kept wanting to say "jo" instead of "I".)

With love,

Kivrin

P.S. I laundered the jacket and the indigos, so you don't need to.

* * *

Trinity 2054

Dear Briele,

Thank you for asking how things are going! I'm sorry I haven't written sooner; there's just been so much to think about this term, and so much still to be done before the summer. Things are going quite well, I suppose. I have plenty of plans for things to study over the summer, but I'm making strides in all my languages and I've started doing research on my costume. I hope to weave some of the fabric myself; it will be a good challenge for myself to try to weave that fine. I'm trying to find someone closer to home with a loom that I can either borrow or use at their location over the summer.

I know you must be terribly busy finishing up your Year 11 exams. I hope those have gone as well as they possibly can, and thank you for finding the time to write me in and among all that busyness. And just think, soon it will be summer, and you won't have any more exams, and I'll be home, and we can watch vids and eat popcorn as much as we like.

Love,

Kivrin

* * *

Michaelmas 2054

Dear Briele,

Well, I'm here in Oxford once again. There's so much to do and so little time to do it in, if indeed I'm going to go in December as we discussed. Mr. Gilchrist hasn't spoken to Mr. Basingame yet, so we'll see if it really happens. He's asked me not to bother Mr. Basingame myself, and Mr. Latimer agreed, so I'm just waiting and trusting. And worrying, at least when I can find time to worry. Mostly I scarcely have time to think about what I'll do tomorrow, much less what I'll do more than two months from now. I have my first Infirmary appointment this week. Dr. Ahrens has a series of antivirals and augments and all sorts of other medications for me before I go, starting gradually and then ramping up as it gets closer. Next month I'll have an inpatient stay for a week so she can take out my appendix and who knows what else. I may be the only one who's headed to the Middle Ages, but I have so many people working with me on this project, and I feel terribly grateful for their support.

I'm heading back to the grindstone now. I'm hoping to finish the rest of a book I'm reading (in English) on the Great Famine of 1315, and read at least a chapter of Wace (in Norman French), before I go to bed tonight.

All my love,

Kivrin

* * *

21 December 2054

Dear Briele,

Tomorrow's the day. The reranking has been approved (though Mr. Gilchrist ended up doing it himself, as he's been appointed Acting Head of the History Faculty while Mr. Basingame's on holiday). My costume is ready, my interpreter and corder have been implanted, I've spent all afternoon practicing the pronunciation of my first speeches (the interpreter should be able to take care of that for me, but Mr. Dunworthy was insistent). Tonight is the last night I'll be sleeping in 2054, because by the time I return, it will be next year.

I've never been this excited in all my life. I can't wait.

All my love,

Kivrin

* * *

Hilary 2055

Dear Briele,

Well, I'm back. I suppose you heard about the virus in Oxford and the quarantine and all. I caught the flu, but I recovered from it all right. The tech who was running my drop also caught the flu, and that caused a few problems, but it's all fine now. I'm back, and I'm safe. I'm fine, I really am. All Dr. Ahrens' medical preparation stood me in good stead, and other than a few bruised ribs (entirely on accident, and nothing to worry about) and a bit of exhaustion (I've done almost nothing but sleep since I got back), I'm entirely hale. They're keeping me in quarantine for a little while, but it's just out of an abundance of caution. Mr. Dunworthy is here in quarantine with me, as well as Dr. Ahrens' great-nephew Colin, so I have plenty of good company while I'm here. I am technically in hospital, so you can send me grapes if you like. (But that's mostly because I like grapes, and I haven't had them in ages. Centuries, to be exact—there weren't any grapes in the Middle Ages.)

I'll be out of quarantine soon, and I've already had the flu and gotten over it, and I had my antivirals and the net won't allow diseases through except in very rare conditions that don't apply here, so there's nothing to worry about.

How about you, have you put anything interesting in the instawave lately?

Love,

Kivrin

P.S. Dr. Ahrens and Mr. Gilchrist both died in the flu outbreak, and Mr. Latimer had a stroke. So many good people died while I was in the Middle Ages. So many.

* * *

Hilary 2055

Dear Briele,

All the test results have come back and confirmed what we already knew: I don't have any viruses or anything else I need to be concerned about. My ribs have nearly healed, too. I'm still locked up in quarantine for another week, but that's strictly out of paranoia on the part of the university administration.

When I haven't been catching up on sleep, I've spent most of time playing Ludo with Colin, who is just as tired of being in quarantine as I am. He reminds me a lot of you at that age (he's 12): very enthusiastic about his interests (the Crusades, in his case) but also just enthusiastic about life in general.

I'm sorry I can't tell you more about what I did in the 14th century. The university has all sorts of papers they want me to sign and solicitors to talk to before I'm allowed to talk to anybody about it. I'm sure I'll be able to tell you eventually, but until then, as galling as it is, we will just have to be patient.

Love,

Kivrin

P.S. Thank you for the grapes! Mr. Dunworthy and Colin send their thanks as well.

* * *

Hilary 2055

Dear Briele,

I'm out of quarantine finally. We've determined that I'll be taking a leave of absence this term. It seemed the best choice, since I missed the beginning of term and my tutor is still entirely incapacitated. And so much happened while I was gone; it will be good to have some time to continue to rest, and not have to throw myself back into my work. I have a lot of writing I want to do about my experiences there; this was a research trip, after all. So it will be good to have the time to undertake that properly, instead of doing it in spare minutes interspersed among my other studies.

The university administration has requested some initial reports from me that will take a few days or maybe a week to complete, and then I might come home for a bit.

Love,

Kivrin

* * *

Hilary 2055

Dear Briele,

I'm coming home this weekend. Please make sure my bed is cleared off, and let me know which of you will be meeting me at the station.

I've been cleared, finally, to tell other people (a very limited few, but you and Mum and Dad are among the people I have permission to tell) about what happened on my drop. I'll tell you all about it when I see you. It will be good to be home.

Love,

Kivrin

* * *

Trinity 2055

Dear Briele,

I'm back at Brasenose and classes are starting tomorrow. Don't worry, I've settled in fine. 

I really mean it this time, I'm fine. It was good to see you all, and it was good to rest, but I'm ready to be back at school, both furthering my studies of the Middle Ages and working on my own contribution to the scholarship on that era.

I promise, I'm not easily breakable. Being seven hundred years from home didn't break me, and the Black Death didn't break me, and neither did the flu. And if those didn't, then taking the train back to Oxford and being assigned a new tutor won't break me either.

Besides, my new tutor is Mr. Dunworthy. I'll officially migrate to Balliol next year, but Brasenose is so short-handed without Gilchrist and Latimer that they're begging tutors from all over. So of course Mr. Dunworthy volunteered to tutor me, and everyone agreed that he was the obvious choice, and so it was settled very easily. Mr. Dunworthy has looked after me in far more dangerous situations than any I'm in now, and I can think of nobody I'd feel more comfortable with.

So you see, the new term is off to a fine start. I've given Mr. Dunworthy the essays I wrote while I was at home, and he's set me two more essays to write this week. It feels odd, not having any language studies I need to be doing. (Perhaps I should pick up another language, just to make myself feel more at home. I could learn modern French, in case you and I take that trip to Paris this summer like you suggested!)

Thanks for all the time you spent with me while I was home. It means a lot to me.

Love,

Kivrin


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